Justice and a universal right to basic health care

Abstract

The first section of this article examines Sade's argument refuting the notion of a right to health care, showing that his argument is inconclusive. The second section sets out three principles of justice through an examination of one of the simplest instances of justice—a just exchange of goods or services between two persons. In the third section, a general theory of justice and of the just society is outlined; and in the fourth section an argument is presented to show that in any society which has the resources to provide basic health care to all its citizens, there is a universal right to basic health care.